Steve Kerr on NCAA: Don't keep this ruse going

By Logan Murdock, Bay Area News Group

Tuesday, March 6, 2018

OAKLAND – Warriors forward Kevin Durant was preparing for his senior year at Montrose Christian Academy in 2005 when the NBA legislated bylaws requiring prospects to attend at least one year of college before entering the draft.

However, that reality may be changing in the near future.

According to an ESPN report, the NBA, in conjunction with the league’s player association, have explored scenarios to create an alternative to the league’s current bylaws that prohibit high school players from bypassing college directly out of high school. The plan, which would encourage NBA personnel to start building relationships with elite prospects while they are in high school, creating the opportunity for prep stars to forego college by way of the NBA or an enhanced version of the G-League.

More than a decade ago, Durant, then a consensus high school All-American, would have welcomed the league’s proposal. Crumpled in a rented two-bedroom apartment on the outskirts of Washington, DC, the 6 foot-9 prep star frequently bumped his head walking into the room he shared with his older brother Tony, as his mother Wanda worked to make ends meet, fueling Durant’s hunger to get his family out of their environment.

“I would’ve tried to go straight to the league,” Durant said. “I wanted to play on the biggest stage, whether its college, I wanted to play against the best players in college and then I would’ve made it to the league. It was either or for me.”

As for the kids that share Durant’s humble upbringing but may not share his abilities? Warriors coach Steve Kerr believes expansion to the league’s G-League system could be a solution.

“We should provide that opportunity for kids coming out of high school that maybe don’t want to go to college,” Kerr said.

“I think its good for guys that are coming out of high school,” Durant added. “[Players] who are not quite ready for the NBA yet but want to make a little bit of cash playing basketball and wanting to be a professional early. Where every day you’re thinking about the game of basketball, not school, not dorm rooms, none of that stuff.”

The ESPN report comes as the NCAA finds itself in a period of peril. Two weeks ago, a report from Yahoo! Sports exposed a pay-for-play scheme that included more than 25 players, from renowned programs like Duke, North Carolina, Texas, Kentucky, Michigan State, USC, and Alabama. Players like Dallas Mavericks rookie guard Dennis Smith and Los Angeles Lakers forward were found to have taken money from ASM Sports, a company headed by former agent Andy Miller. Current Arizona head coach Sean Miller was caught on tape offering $100,000 to DeAndre Ayton, a top-5 NBA prospect and current center for the Wildcats.

The news drew the ire of Durant.

"You want these players to go out and play on the biggest stage, I mean, the Final Four is one of the biggest sporting events in the world in sports, and they don’t get a dime for it," Durant said when the report was released. "I don’t think it’s right. They go out there, and they slave for these programs, to go out there and win a championship to bring a good vibe to these programs.”

On Monday, however, Kerr provided an alternative to the current structure.

“If a kid signs with an agent and declares for the draft and doesn’t get drafted, welcome him back,” Kerr said. “We talk about this amateurism and all this stuff, but if we’re truly trying to do something for the kid. If the kid declares for the draft and doesn’t get drafted and realizes, ‘you know what? I should go to college’ – welcome him back. Do something good for the kids.”

“Don’t keep this ruse going,” Kerr added. “We all know what’s going on. Let’s do what’s best for the kids and give them some options and work together between the NBA and the NCAA and find the right system. I think it’s entirely doable if you people just open their eyes.”